China’s energy policy has been revised, with a strong focus on developing nuclear power

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It seems that bioenergy was not mentioned in China’s 12th Five-Year Plan; it is likely that bioenergy will go through a period of dormancy. New adjustments have been made to China’s energy policy, with a focus on developing nuclear power. 01:03:30, April 8, 2009. Source: 21st Century Business Herald (Guangzhou). The 21st Century Business Herald reported on April 8 that it can be said that another adjustment has taken place. ”On April 7, Zhou Fengqi, a senior advisor at the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, analyzed China’s energy policy in this way. **Zhang Guobao, vice head of the National Development and Reform Commission and director of the **Energy Bureau, wrote an article in the latest issue of April’s Qiushi magazine titled \"Scientific Development: The Fundamental Path for the Power Industry to Overcome Challenges.\" According to this article, industry experts believe that in response to the current issues in the energy sector, the National Development and Reform Commission has accelerated its adjustment efforts; aside from the shift in nuclear power policy from \"actively promoting\" it to \"vigorously developing\" it, there have also been changes in the policies related to thermal power, hydroelectric power, and renewable energy. “Adjustments to the 12th Five-Year Plan: **Policy changes by the Energy Bureau are bound to have an impact on the contents of the 12th Five-Year Plan. At the High-Level Forum on the Scientific Development of the Power Industry held on March 28, Cao Shudong, deputy director of the Power Department under the National Energy Administration, revealed that the administration has already begun preparations for formulating the power industry plan for the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Special plans, including those related to the development of nuclear power, have been launched. In light of the evolving situation, efforts will be accelerated to develop nuclear power, combined heat and power generation, and integrated coal power systems; the relationships between different stages of the power industry will be further strengthened, the structure of thermal power generation will be adjusted actively, and efforts will be made to reduce energy consumption and emissions. Similar to nuclear power, China’s policies regarding hydroelectric and thermal power are also being fine-tuned. For example, in accordance with the 11th Five-Year Plan, China’s electricity policy focused on optimizing the development of thermal power, developing hydropower in an orderly manner, actively promoting nuclear power construction, and vigorously advancing renewable energy sources. According to Zhang Guobao’s article, going forward, in addition to nuclear power shifting from a \"proactive\" approach to the current strategy of \"intensive development,\" there are also changes in the policies regarding thermal power, hydroelectric power, and renewable energy. For example, the policy regarding hydropower for the next phase is to “actively promote the development of hydropower,” replacing the approach of “developing hydropower in an orderly manner” proposed in the 11th Five-Year Plan. Thermal power generation involves \"actively promoting the consolidation of the power industry by phasing out smaller plants and accelerating the elimination of outdated production capacity,\" which is different from the approach outlined in the 11th Five-Year Plan, which focused on \"optimizing the development of thermal power generation.\" The phrase regarding new energy is “accelerating the development of clean and efficient energy sources such as wind power, solar power, and cogeneration,” which also differs from the previous proposal to “vigorously develop renewable energy.” Behind the different wording lies a change in planning. Taking wind power as an example, Shi Lishan, deputy director of the Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, revealed that the total installed capacity of wind power by 2020 will reach 100 million kilowatts, **exceeding the target of 30 million kilowatts set for 2020 in the Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy from 2007.** Zhou Fengqi told reporters that at present, more efforts should be focused on nuclear power in terms of policy adjustments, as nuclear power can develop rapidly in the short term. \"As long as the issues related to safety, nuclear waste, and nuclear materials are resolved, significant progress can be achieved.\" Although hydropower is also developing rapidly, its potential is relatively lower in the long term. For example, by 2020, the development potential might be ‘pretty much exhausted’.” Zhang Guobao revealed that by 2020, the installed capacity of hydropower would reach around 300 million kilowatts; the share of renewable energy sources other than hydropower would increase from the current level of around 1.5% to over 6%, thereby promoting the development of renewable energy. Focus on the development of nuclear power: China’s policy regarding the development of nuclear energy has shifted from \"moderate\" to \"active\", and then to \"vigorous development\". Previously, on March 2, 2005, the State Council held an executive meeting and decided to change the nuclear power development policy from \"moderate\" to \"proactive\". To this end, the **Special Plan for Nuclear Power Development (2005–2020)**, officially approved by the State Council in November 2007, stipulates that in order to meet the requirement of \"actively promoting nuclear power development,\" the operating capacity of nuclear power plants should reach 40 million kilowatts by 2020, with nuclear power accounting for 4% of the total electricity generation capacity, up from less than 2% at present. However, the aforementioned policies have been further adjusted. According to an article written by Zhang Guobao, **the medium- and long-term development plan for nuclear power is currently being revised, with an emphasis on the development of nuclear power facilities along the coast. The construction of nuclear power plants in inland areas is also being planned in a scientific manner, with the goal of achieving a share of 5% or more for nuclear power in the total electricity generation capacity by 2020. Zhou Fengqi told reporters that, based on the new calculations regarding the proportion of nuclear power in the total energy mix, the total installed capacity of nuclear power by 2020 could rise from the previously estimated 40 million kilowatts to around 70 million kilowatts. But this figure is not fixed either, as nuclear power could develop more rapidly in the future if necessary. The construction of 300,000-kilowatt thermal power units is no longer undertaken. As the development of new energy sources accelerates, the phasing out of outdated thermal power capacity is also speeding up, which is directly related to the achievement of **energy-saving goals. According to the **NDRC’s plan, by the end of 2010, an effort will be made to shut down 50 million kilowatts worth of small thermal power units. Among them, fuel boilers and generator sets with a capacity of 50,000 kilowatts or less that rely on thermal power generation will be phased out nationwide. In the eastern region, coal-fired condensing thermal power units with a capacity of 100,000 kilowatts or less should be eliminated; except for regions such as **, Xinjiang, Hainan, and Qinghai which are far from the main power grids, coal-fired condensing thermal power units with a capacity of 50,000 kilowatts or less should be phased out in the central and western regions. These goals are being completed at an accelerated pace. By the end of 2008, during the first three years of the 11th Five-Year Plan period, a total of 34.21 million kilowatts of capacity were shut down nationwide, achieving 68.4% of the target of shutting down 50 million kilowatts set for that period. Our newspaper has learned that the **National Development and Reform Commission and the Energy Administration have decided that in the next phase, small thermal power units with capacities of 125,000 kilowatts and 200,000 kilowatts will be phased out gradually, while no new thermal power units with a capacity of 300,000 kilowatts will be installed. The National Development and Reform Commission bases its decision on the fact that, according to calculations, large units with a capacity of 600,000 kilowatts consume 100 to 150 grams of standard coal per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, compared to smaller units with capacities of 100,000 kilowatts or less. Accelerating the shutdown of small thermal power plants will inevitably speed up energy-saving efforts during the 11th Five-Year Plan period. **Adjusting the new policies could lead to the achievement of the energy-saving targets for the 11th Five-Year Plan period. Zhou Fengqi said that the accelerated development of new energy sources such as nuclear power is conducive to achieving energy-saving goals. \"It now seems that the goal of reducing energy consumption by 20% during the 11th Five-Year Plan period should not present any problems, as only a 5% reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP is required each year in the remaining two years.\" ” Yang Fuqiang, director of the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Climate Change Response Program, noted that China’s economic growth rate is currently slowing down, and at a growth rate of 8% at present, it should be possible to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 10% over the next two years. “In fact, the target was already exceeded in 2008. ” According to his research, under normal circumstances in 2008 – that is, as long as the GDP did not exceed 9%-10% – energy consumption per unit of GDP was expected to decline by 4.4%. However, the actual decline was 4.59%, due to the economic slowdown in the fourth quarter of 2008, which led to a negative growth in energy consumption. Data shows that over the three years from 2006 to 2008, energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 10.08%, achieving 50% of the 20% target. Yang Fuqiang said that it should not be difficult to achieve another 10% reduction in the next two years, which will lay the foundation for further reductions of 20% in energy consumption over the next two five-year periods starting in 2010. “If that is indeed the case, then between 2001 and 2020, the economy will achieve a four-fold growth by doubling its total energy consumption. ”Reporter: Xiao Ming (Source: 21st Century Business Herald) http://img1.cache.netease.com/cnews/img07/end_i.gif